


The Mother Who Lied

by ElectraCute



Series: Stars & Daffodils [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Death Eater Trials, Post-War, Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 15:49:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21394702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectraCute/pseuds/ElectraCute
Summary: Shortly after the war, Harry Potter visits Narcissa Malfoy, who is being held at the Ministry before her trial.
Relationships: Narcissa Black Malfoy & Harry Potter
Series: Stars & Daffodils [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1044350
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	The Mother Who Lied

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic back in summer of 2018, and I found it today as I was going through some files. Although my style and the themes that interest me have changed since then, this story feels important and I want to share it. Enjoy and please consider leaving me a review :)

The Ministry guard led Harry down a corridor and stopped at the third door to the left. He unlocked it to reveal a narrow, half-lit cell, furnished with only a bed and a chair. A figure in a long white nightgown was sitting on the bed, her back almost painfully straight and her face averted towards the tiny barred window, which was the only light source in the room.

"You have a visitor," said the guard and patted Harry on the back, urging him to walk inside. "I'll be waiting outside, Mr. Potter."

Harry entered the cell and approached the woman, who had now turned to absently look at him.

"Harry Potter." It was more of a statement than a welcoming call.

"Good evening, Mrs. Malfoy." He glanced around. "Are you doing alright? In here, I mean."

"Well," sighed the woman, "it's hardly the Manor. But it isn't Azkaban either, and I suppose that's all that matters for now."

"You're not headed to Azkaban, not as far as I'm concerned. I will never let that happen."

"That's kind of you, boy. Not many people would say the same for a Malfoy."

"You saved my life, and the wizarding world too. It's the least I can do."

She gave a sad smile at that. "Sit," she said, motioning at the chair, and he obliged.

Narcissa Malfoy seemed shockingly out of place in that small, plain room. The regal snow queen of Malfoy Manor, no better than a common prisoner. Harry wondered what Draco would feel like if he saw his mother at her current state, fallen from grace lower than ever before.

"Mrs. Malfoy... Why did you do it?"

Her grey eyes - the same as Sirius's, noticed Harry - shifted from the void they were staring into, surprise evident in them. "What?"

"Why did you save me?"

The question seemed preposterous to her. "I needed to know if Draco was alright, I needed to get to him. I had to lie."

Harry smirked. "But that's not true, not really. You didn't have to lie."

She lowered her head, avoiding to look at him. The boy continued.

"You asked me if Draco was in the castle, and I said yes. You could have then told Voldemort I was still alive, and he would have killed me on the spot - I was alone and unarmed, an easy target. You would have gone to Hogwarts with the conquering army, and found Draco. And Voldemort would have won the war. But you didn't want him to, did you, Mrs. Malfoy?"

Without answering, she slowly stood up and walked over to the window. Harry observed her further; she was very thin, thinner than he remembered her being in the Manor, and even more than when he'd first met her. He always found that Draco looked mainly like his father, but he could now see that he had inherited some of his mother's features; her nose, the shape of her mouth, her hands. She must have been a very beautiful woman once, he thought, remembering the photo of her younger self at Grimmauld Place.

"He took everything from me," she said all of a sudden in a warm, quivering voice. "First my sister; he took advantage of her in every way and turned her into a monster." A tear began to stream down her cheek. "Then my favourite cousin, my little Regulus." Another tear made an appearance, but her face remained straight. "Then, when he returned, he took my home, my husband, my son... In the end, I had nothing left to give him. I thought I might as well take someting back."

Harry stood up and approached her. "Mrs. Malfoy, tomorrow at the trial... Tell them what you just said to me. Help them understand you. And I'll be there too, making sure you walk out a free woman. I promise you, you will."

"What about my family? What do you think will become of them?"

"I believe Draco could be cleared of all charges. He didn't kill or torture anyone, and simply bearing the Dark Mark is not enough to condemn him. Your husband, however..."

"It's back to Azkaban for Lucius, isn't it?" She was on the verge of tears. "If he goes back in there, it might as well be the death of him."

"I'll do my best to help your family, for your sake. I'll be in all three trials, and I'll try to get you all out. The Ministry respects me now, they value my word. Put your faith in me."

"Oh, but Harry," she said, and his name sounded oddly sweet on her lips, "I already have."


End file.
